Theresa May threatens military and economic retaliation against Russia if Vladimir Putin is proven to be behind poisoned spy attack

Such measures proposed include the immediate expulsion of Russian diplomats and pushing for a Nato-wide reinforcement in Eastern Europe

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By Tom Newton Dunn, Political Editor

9th March 2018, 2:00 pm

Updated: 9th March 2018, 2:07 pm

By Tom Newton Dunn, Political Editor

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THERESA May is drawing up a “full spectrum” retaliation against Vladimir Putin for the nerve agent hit on spy Sergei Skripal, The Sun can reveal.

The PM has told ministers to prepare a powerful response across diplomatic, economic and military fronts to punish the Salisbury outrage - dubbed by Home Secretary Amber Rudd as “a brazen and reckless act”.

Theresa May told ministers to prepare for diplomatic, economic and military retaliation against Russia for the chemical weapons attack on British soil

Intelligence chiefs are just “a few days” away from establishing hard proof that poison plot was ordered by Moscow.

Senior Whitehall sources said Mrs May accepts she must then initiate a response to match the public uproar that will meet the revelation that another state was behind a chemical weapons attack on British soil.

It will include:

The immediate expulsion of senior Russian diplomats and spies, as well as potentially cancelling Kremlin-linked oligarch’s visas to London, plus asset freezes and travel bans.

Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia remain in a critical condition in hospital following the nerve agent attack on Sunday

Activity across Whitehall was intense last night to prepare for the retaliation, with the MoD, the Treasury, the Foreign Office and Home Office all drawing up a series of options for No10.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is preparing a major telephone lobbying operation for Britain’s European allies in a bid to sign up to a joint statement of condemnation, as well as potential action at the UN.

Diplomats along with MI5 are drawing up an extensive list of Russian figures to expel, from declared SVR intelligence officers to oligarchs who back Mr Putin.

The PM will take a final decision on how many to throw out once the full intelligence assessment is delivered to her – which could come as early as the weekend.

Furious senior Tories even called for Russia’s ambassador to be ejected and his embassy closed down.

Accusing Putin of “behaving like a rogue state”, former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcom Rifkind added: “It is becoming progressively more difficult to contemplate normal diplomatic relations with such a government”.

NHS workers in hazardous material protective suits after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were taken ill in Salisbury

Tory MP grandee Sir Nicolas Soames tweeted: “The West has been pretty pathetic in sticking up for Democracy in Moscow and weak on Russian interference in Ukraine, the Balkans and Syria #forgoodnesssakewakeupandgetagrip”.

The Home Secretary vowed to bring Colonel Skripal’s twisted attackers to justice, as she branded his poisoning “a most outrageous crime”.

Addressing MPs in an emergency Commons statement, Ms Rudd also revealed the Government’s outrage over the chemical weapons use, saying: “The use of a nerve agent on UK soil was a brazen and reckless act”.

Significantly, she also repeatedly refused to dampen down mounting speculation about Moscow’s involvement.

In a strong suggestion of the retaliation to come, Ms Rudd instead told MPs: “There will come a time for attribution, and further consequences will then follow”.

Other MPs called for wider action, with Tom Tugendhat saying that Putin used "murder as an instrument of state policy" as he urged for a co-ordinated boycott of the World Cup.

His call was backed by Labour's Chris Bryant, who suggested it would be "difficult" for England to take part if Russian state involvement in the attack was proven, according to The Daily Mail.

The PM called for the police to be given “the time and space to actually conduct their investigation”.

But Mrs May added: “We will do what is appropriate, we will do what is right, if it is proved to be the case that this is State sponsored”.

But Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told ITV1’s Good Morning Britain that President Putin’s regime posed an “ever greater threat” to Britain and the UK must be not be “pushed around” by another nation.